


Home

by Idril_Telperien1



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-16
Updated: 2014-08-25
Packaged: 2018-01-04 20:44:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1085503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idril_Telperien1/pseuds/Idril_Telperien1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek Morgan finally decided to commit to a long term relationship with Emma. A series of unconnected one shots following Morgan's life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Home**

**The family is a haven in the heartless world – Christopher Lasch**

Derek Morgan had never really liked going home after a case. There had always been a sense of loneliness when he left the team and headed into away into the darkness, of course Clooney had been there but you couldn’t have a conversation with him. That had all changed now he had someone to go home to. And today was especially good because it was Halloween. Although Derek had never really liked Halloween he now lived with two people who couldn’t get enough of it and when they were happy so was he.

 The warning signs that he had married a closet masochist had been there the first time he’d taken her to the cinema when she’d chosen the horror film instead of the girly chick flick. Their six month anniversary had fallen on Halloween and when he asked her what she wanted to, Emma had nervously bit her lip and asked if they could go to a haunted house on her block. It was the strangest way he’d ever spent an anniversary (not that he’d had that many, and never a six month one, before Emma he was more the love them and leave them type) but it had been perfect and cemented in his mind that she was the one. _The one._ It had always seemed like such a ridiculous idea when Garcia, JJ and Emily had talked about it but the day he’d seen her walking into the bull pen with the rest of her team he’d known. Well, he’d known she was hot and he wanted her but it was when he’d talked to her when they’d gone for a drink after the case that he’d realised how amazing she was. They started spending all their free time together; going to the movies, out for dinner but surprisingly, her favourite thing to do was go walking with Clooney through the park on a Sunday afternoon. She was the one he called when the vet said there was no option but to put Clooney down, she’d held him as the needle went in and his faithful companion took his last breaths. She’d allowed him to sit and sob without pointing out that he witnessed some of the sickest things humans were capable of, but he was crying over a dead dog.

That was the first night she’d stayed over, although they’d only ended up falling asleep full clothed on the couch it had been one of the most intimate moments he’d ever shared with anyone. He smiled as he remembered waking up to find himself spooning and knowing that he should be horrified to have left himself be so vulnerable but all he could feel was a glowing happiness that she was lying in his arms.  A year later, the two had stood in front of their family and friends exchanging vows. Derek had sworn he’d never get married several times in his life, especially after Foyett but holding Emma as they swayed together for their first dance just felt right. As he held her close enough to feel her heartbeat through the flimsy satin material of her wedding dress, he made a silent promise that he would keep her safe and happy.  Five years on and he believed that he’d kept his promise to her. They’d had their fair share of ups and downs but mostly things were good between them; after spending so much time with Rossi and Hotch and seeing how their marriages had panned out he’d worried about the affect his job would have on them but because Emma did the same job she understood when he had to leave at 2 AM.  

Derek spent a second staring up at the house. Taking in the paved brick path that led up to the doorway; he’d paved it himself one weekend with Emma and their new German shepherd Pepsi watching in amusement. The flowers of all shapes and sizes were Emma’s attempt at proving she could do anything he could after an argument. He had had to concede defeat and admit that it was ten times better than anything he could have created. He was still musing about the effort the two had put into creating their home when a movement at the window caught his eye. Several seconds later the door was flung open and a bundle of energy charged into his stomach with a scream of Daddy. Tiny arms wrapped around his waist before pulling back and raising her arms above her head with a pleading look on her face.

“Come here baby girl.” He pulled her up into his arms and squeezed her tightly. She giggled and kissed his nose. His four year old daughter squealed in delight as he raised her above his head and pretended to drop her before catching her just in time. He hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep since the case started over a week ago and he could do with sleeping for the next 2 days but seeing Sophie all dressed up gave him enough of a boost to get through the next few hours. She was wearing a black and purple witch’s outfit complete with stripy tights and a spider hair band. He grinned, Sophie had only started going trick or treating last year but she’d adored it. This year she’d been pestering them about it since the start of September. She’d even got a little teary on the phone last night at the prospect of going without him. He’d got a little teary too. What could he say, the case was exhausting and horrific, and all he wanted to do was curl up with his girls.

It hadn’t been the only time he’d cried on the case. When they’d got involved five little girls had already been found dead and another was missing. Three days in, the missing girl and another one had been found dead. Another had disappeared. Derek and Hotch had gone to speak to the missing girl’s parents. Her name was Amelia. Her distraught Father had handed Derek a picture of his wife and daughter. He stared at the two of them smiling up from the frame, feeling sick as he thought of the near identical picture he had in his wallet. He should have been focusing on the distressed Father but all he could see was Sophie lying dead among the rubbish like the other girls.

“I have to go.” He rushed out the house, fumbling in his pocket for the phone. He had to know she was safe.

“Hey darling.” Emma picked up after the first ring leading him to wonder whether someone had tipped her off about the case. He’d decided not to tell her the details in case it upset her; motherhood had changed her from a hardened federal agent into someone who cried when the apes died in _planet of the apes._

“Garcia called you?”

“Those profiling skills haven’t let you down.” She laughed quietly. “Baby why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to upset you.”

“I’m here for you.” He wanted to tell her that he knew but his throat was clogged up as he tried to avoid breaking down in front of Amelia’s house. She seemed to understand as she called to Sophie who took the phone and began an excited monologue about everything she’d done that day. It was the first time he’d smiled that day.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Entering the house with Sophie clinging to him like a baby monkey he was assaulted first by Pepsi who tried to eat his jacket and then Emma who pressed a tender kiss to his lips and neck. He wrapped his free arm around her while Pepsi ran around them in circles; Sophie leaned down to pat the dog who licked her face causing her to emit a giggle. He kissed the other, non saliva covered cheek. Relishing the chaos that he’d evoked.  

A quick shower later and he was ready to head out into the strange world of warlocks, witches and ghouls. The usually quiet suburban streets were packed full of children and bored parents rugged up in coats hoping the sugar rush would wear off quickly. Sophie was running a few meters ahead of them, although after the case he was careful to keep her in his sights, while he ambled along hand in hand with Emma. He was exhausted, his eyelids heavy as lead but Emma’s warm hand kept him from staggering into the road. She promised him quietly that they wouldn’t go far but he shrugged it off and focused on Sophie twirling up the street like a witch ballerina. It only took a couple of blocks before Derek was dead on his feet and Sophie had exhausted herself, so they headed home.

It took no small amount of persuasion to pry the bag of sweets from Sophie and get her ready for bed but the bribe of Daddy reading her a story eventually got her under the covers. Derek, with Emma’s help, just about managed to stagger from Sophie’s room into the master bedroom before crawling into the covers and laying his head on the pillows. He had never felt so glad of his own bed in his life. It moulded to his exact shape unlike the paper thin motel mattress he’d been subjected to for the past week, the fluffy cloth soothing his aching bones that groaned from the exertion of the past few days. _Man, I’m getting old_. He mused, thinking of the hyperactivity that Sophie displayed everyday. He felt a gentle pressure on his forehead from the warm tender lips of his wife as she lay down beside him.

“You don’t have to stay.” He murmured, knowing she would lie there next to him to give him comfort.

“It’s ok, Baby. It’ll be nice to curl up with you. I’ve had to make do with Pepsi for the last few days. He snores worse than you.” He laughed before wrapping one arm around her and pulling her flush against him. Pepsi began nudging his thigh and whining, obviously missing his powerful position next to Emma. He hushed the dog with a quick pat before turning back to Emma’s warm body. He breathed in her fruity scent before closing his eyes. He was home. 

 


	2. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one takes place right at the beginning of their relationship. Hope you enjoy it.

 

**Meeting**

**And thank you for a house full of people I love. Amen- Terri Guillemets**

Emma stopped dead. Her eyes betrayed the terror she felt. A small whimper escaped her lips as she tried to move backwards but the strong arm held her firmly in place. Her eyes darted from side to side like a gazelle trapped by a lion looking for escape. Her eyes eventually found the person who usually kept her safe from such things. Today it was him who was subjecting her to this torture. Derek slowly reached up to cup her face with his gun calloused fingers; reluctantly she met his gaze and allowed his warm stare to calm her down. She leaned up and kissed his lips, trying to remember that of all the girls he’d ever met, she was the _only_ one he’d bought home. To him, she was special. The feeling that thought created was so intense it should have scared her. It didn’t. If anything it made her more demand to walk through the door and make a good impression.

“What if she hates me?” Emma had to ask. She needed reassurance, even if she knew he was hardly going to tell her the meeting would be on par with something from _monster-in-law._

“No one could hate you, Emmie.” She snorted but let him lead her towards the door, burying her fingernails in his skin. He decided to steer her towards the door before she drew blood, hoping she would let go once they got in the house. Once they were at the front door he paused a second before knocking. Suddenly nervous himself. What if his Mother _didn’t_ like Emma? He’d never brought anyone home before, hell, he’d never even mentioned a girl on the phone before. Sure, his Mama had often asked him if there was anyone special but he’d just laughed her off. Then one Sunday, just after Clooney died, she’d asked him about his love life and he’d told her there was someone.

_“Oh Baby! What’s her name? I want to know everything about her.” His Mama’s excitement radiated off the phone and he couldn’t help but smile._

After that she’d enquired about Emma every phone call, often slipping in not so subtle hints about bringing her to meet the family. His family had been annoyed when he’d turned up for his Mama’s birthday minus Emma. He’d wanted to take her with him but he was nervous about asking her; while the BAU believed he was a lady’s man, when it came to actual relationships he didn’t really have a clue and he didn’t want to come on too strong. He knew Emma’s relationship with her own family was fraught at best so taking her into the heart of his loving family could either be construed as loving or cruel. In the end he’d decided to gingerly bring it up over dinner, wringing his hands as he stumbled over his words. Man, he’d never been so nervous in his life. He refused to acknowledge _why_ he was so nervous. So, he was presently surprised when she grinned and told him she’d love to meet his family. He refused to acknowledge why her agreement made him so happy. The reason behind his happiness was too scary to contemplate.

It had taken them six weeks to sort out time off but eventually they were covered for two weeks off; one week spent in Chicago and one week out in Alaska. Emma had once told him that she’d love to see snow; Emma had grown up in near poverty in Texas’ fifth ward but unlike Derek she’d never had a loving family. Now she was finally free of them, she’d decided to do everything she’d ever wanted to do, and Derek decided to give her a helping hand. Snow was next on her list after visiting every museum in Washington, which she’d completed with a visit to the Hillwood museum last week. Emma had been excited right up until they’d stepped out of the rental car outside his Mama’s apartment block. Then it was a fight for each step.

He knocked on the door while Emma clutched his bicep with both hands. She really needed to cut her nails. He kissed her head as the door was flung open to reveal his Mama and sisters crowded in the doorway. He hoped they didn’t hear the squeal of terror Emma emitted.  He gave his Mama a one armed hug before pulling back to introduce Emma, who seemed to have forgotten how to breath.

“Emma, we’ve heard so much about you.” His Mama smiled gently at her, he could tell she was itching to hug her but she didn’t want to scare Emma.

“Hope it was all good.” Her voice was still higher than usual and she turned to stare wide eyed at Derek as if he had told his Mama she was a complete bitch.

“Of course. You can’t shut him about you. Last time he was here it was Emma this and Emma that.” Sarah playfully teased her brother from behind the protection of her Mother.

“Sarah!” Derek growled angrily, feeling his face burn red at her statement. It was completely true of course, when he’d come down two months ago he’d spent a great deal of time talking about Emma. He couldn’t help it; there was something about Emma that made him lose all control. He frequently found himself sounding like Reid on one of his rants. Emma turned to smile at him. A bright, radiant smile at the news that she was on his mind. He smiled back at her, running his hand up and down her arm as she leans into him slightly. His family moved to allow them entry to the house, he could tell his Mama wanted to interrogate Emma (it wasn’t just his Father he’d got his skills from) but was holding back. Emma’s breathing was still erratic but she’d relinquished her death grip on his arm ever so slightly. He placed their bags down in the hall and was immediately assailed by his sisters who flung their arms about the two of them. Desiree pulled Emma away from him and led her into the sitting room. He went to follow but his Mama pulled him back with a knowing smile on her face.

“Don’t worry; I’ve made them promise to behave themselves. Take your bags upstairs.” He nodded, knowing that his Mama was better at this than he was. She and his Dad had had to integrate two families that despised it other and made it work. Sort of. Racism had been rife between both sides and even now, forty years on, there were still tensions between certain segments.

“Ok.” He nodded and headed towards the stairs.

“And if the conversation lags I can bring out the baby photos.” He hoped she was joking. He doubted she was. He continued up the stairs which were flanked by family photos of them. He stopped by one of his Dad smiling as he cuddled Derek against him. In the picture Derek was eight years old, it was his birthday and his Dad had taken him to his first football game: the Chicago Bears vs. Denver Broncos. The tickets had been expensive and he’d had to forfeit a party but he didn’t care. All he cared about was seeing a proper game with his Dad. It was a memory he cherished, his Dad had bought him a Bears baseball cap and to this day it was still on the cabinet in his room. He smiled before heading up the stairs to his old room.

His room had changed a lot since he’d first moved out; his Mama had eventually packed up everything he hadn’t taken with him and put it in the loft leaving a minimal bedroom. It was still the dark blue his Dad had painted it just before he died, there were shelves on the right hand wall above his bed holding more family pictures and a few of his most important football trophies . A wardrobe took up most of the left wall, it was meant to be used for guests’ clothes but in reality it was full of his sisters’. He checked everything was tidy although he didn’t know why he bothered; his Mama had made sure everything was spotless. As he descended back downstairs he caught a whiff of his Mama’s famous cooking. Man, he loved coming home. Despite the smell he was still shocked at what he saw when he poked his head around the door: it was the kind of spread that was usually reserved for Christmas and Thanksgiving. He guessed his Mama was just as desperate to impress Emma. Squeals of laughter from the sitting room alerted him to his sisters breaking their promise to behave themselves. He paused outside the closed door, scared of what embarrassing momentum his family had found to show Emma. He took a deep calming breath before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

His Mother hadn’t been lying about bringing out the baby photos. Thankfully they hadn’t got to any of the naked ones yet. His first thought was to run forward and snatch back the incriminating document. Maybe burn it for good measure. But then he saw how relaxed Emma was, sat comfortably between his Mama and Sarah with Desiree leaning in from the side.

“You were a really cute baby.” She turned to grin at him. He couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she was; a few strands of her chestnut brown hair had come lose and framed her pale features. Sea green eyes met his smouldering brown and silently communicated her thanks that he’d pushed her into the middle of his happy family. He moved forward and wrapped an arm around Emma’s neck as he leaned over to kiss her.

Fran smiled gleefully as she watched her son hug the new woman in his life; she was incredibly happy that he had finally found someone. As the years had gone by and her son showed no signs of settling down she’d become more concerned about him. It wasn’t about Grandchildren as she had often joked with him, but after it had come out the Carl Buford had sexually assaulted her son the guilt had overwhelmed her. She’d believed that Buford was saving her son but instead he’d been doing unspeakable things. And she’d had no idea. So she wanted him to be happy with someone who would treat him right.

She hoped Emma would be that person.     

 


	3. Family

**Certain is it that there is no kind of affection so purely angelic as of a father to a daughter. In love to our wives there is desire; to our sons, ambition; but to our daughters there is something which there are no words to express- Joseph Addison.**

The tiny bundle let out a small whimper. Derek couldn’t stop smiling as he cradled his first born tightly against his chest. Her skin was a shade or two lighter than Derek’s and she had her Mom’s sea green eyes which were gazing intently up at him. He couldn’t believe she was his, the idea that he was responsible for her frightened him more than any of the Unsubs he’d ever come up against. Sophie wriggled in his arms and let out a small whimper before quieting down again as he rocked her. His eyes flicked up to see Emma watching him from her hospital bed and he felt his heart burst with love for the two women in my life.

“Being a Dad suits you.” She smiled tiredly at him as he walked towards her, carefully cradling his precious daughter in his arms. Emma reached out an arm and stroked the black silky hair from her daughter’s face. Derek sat down on the bed with Emma who instantly cuddled closer to him.

“I can’t wait for Mamma to see her. You should have heard her squeal on the phone when I told her she had a granddaughter.” He smiled at the memory, although his ear was still ringing from the shrieking. His sisters were bringing his Mamma down and they should be here the next morning, he doubted he’d get his daughter back once they arrived.

“I know, you’ll be spoilt won’t you baby?” She kissed the tiny nose making the baby wiggle again in Derek’s arms. 

“She needs a name.”

“Mmm… later.”  Emma lay her head down on the pillow and closed her eyes, still exhausted from the nineteen hour labour she’d endured. Derek gently laid his precious child down in the plastic crib beside the bed and, after making sure she was asleep, crawled back into bed beside Emma who instantly curled up on his chest. One of his favourite things about having a wife was the way she curled up on his chest; there was something intensely comforting about her heavy weight on him, as if she was grounding him into the present. Emma’s breathing evened out as she quickly fell asleep but despite his exhaustion, Derek’s mind wouldn’t turn itself off. He was suddenly very scared about the future; that little girl was totally dependent on him and he wasn’t sure he could give her what she needed. He ran his hand up and down Emma’s back in another gesture he found extremely comforting while he listened to the quiet snuffling of his child next to the bed.

He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he remembered he could feel another presence in the room. He went into overdriving; reaching blindly for a gun he didn’t have as he pushed Emma off him to get to the person who was near his family. He felt incredibly foolish when he saw a nurse checking on his daughter.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to disturb you.” She smiled pleasantly as she moved away from the crib to check Emma’s notes. The aforementioned Emma was stirring groggily after being unceremoniously dumped off of Derek’s chest, rubbing at her eyes as she too looked around to check on her baby. “She’s beautiful.”

“Thank you.” Emma smiled before reaching over Derek to pick her up and cuddle her against her chest. The nurse quietly left the new family together as Emma stared down in awe at her child, while Derek wrapped his arms around the two of them. “Names?”

“We probably should have thought about this before she was born.” Emma laughed in agreement as she nudged Derek in the direction the go bag that was lying on a chair in the corner of the room where there was a baby names book. It wasn’t strictly true that they hadn’t been thinking about names, only that they hadn’t come up with any they liked. She wasn’t sure exactly why they were finding it so hard to find names but nothing they decided on seemed to fit so they’d decided that once they saw her a name would instantly come to them. It hadn’t happened like that, all she knew was she wanted a beautiful name for her equally beautiful daughter.

“How about… Lily?” Derek asked as he turned to a random page. She looked down at the slumbering girl and shook her head; she didn’t look like a Lilly.

“Well we know her middle name.” Emma smiled, they’d already decided to name her after Derek’s parents: Thomas for a boy and Francine for a girl. It had been Emma’s idea; she adored Derek’s family and from the way Fran raved to anyone who’d listen about her daughter- in –law the feeling was more than mutual.

“Josella… Christina… Paige… Sophie… Hannah.”  Derek kept turning to random pages and calling out the first name on it while Emma looked at the baby and tried it out in her mind.

“Go back.”

“Hannah?” Derek pulled a face, obviously not keen on the suggestion.

“No, Sophie. Sophie Morgan, what do you think?” Something had clicked when Derek said the name.

“Sophie Francine Morgan.” Derek repeated the name and stared at the little girl, she looked like a Sophie. “I like it. It means wisdom.”

“Reid’ll get a kick out of it.” Emma agreed before looking up at the door as she heard a familiar voice down the corridor. Emma felt excitement bubble inside her at the idea of showing off her daughter to her family; she’d never really imagined her family coming to see her new born child. Her Father had left when she was born and her Mother had been an alcoholic, it had hardly been the best childhood, but now she had a family that she loved.

“Hey… oh wow.” Fran Morgan stopped in the doorway and bit her lip in excitement as she stared at her daughter-in-law cradling her first grandchild. She pushed a lock of curly red hair as she made her way into the room, her eyes met Derek’s and she couldn’t help but smile at how happy he looked. Sarah and Desiree followed her in and both let out a little squeal when they saw the newest edition to the family.

“Would you like to hold her?” Emma held out the tiny bundle to Fran who happily took her, but she instantly felt bereft without the weight in her arms. Sarah and Desiree crowded round her with hugs and kisses for the girl they considered their sister, while secretly eyeing up their Mom holding their niece and wondering when they could get a cuddle.

“She’s beautiful. Does she have a name?” Fran cooed as she kissed her grandchild’s nose.

“Sophie Francine,” Derek couldn’t help but grin at the ecstatic look that passed across his Mother’s face when she found out his daughter’s name. He watched the interactions between his family for a while as his sisters each took turns holding the baby, but he knew that he had more family that he had to tell about his daughter. The team had been away in Alaska on a case, even Garcia had gone with them, when Emma called to tell him she’d gone into labour and he’d had to hot foot it back to Quantico. He’d promised Garcia he’d call when the baby was born but he’d been too exhausted to do much more than quickly call his Mom before curling up with Emma. He promised he wouldn’t be gone long although he doubted any of them would have noticed his disappearance as they all cooed over Sophie. He wandered out into the corridor and fished out some coins for the payphone down the hall before dialling the all too familiar number for Garcia.

“Hey baby girl, how’s the case?”

“Don’t ‘how’s the case me’! How’s Emma and the baby?”

“They’re both fine.” He knew he shouldn’t tease Garcia but he knew how desperate she was for him to have a daughter that she could spoil.

“And? Boy or girl? Names? Don’t leave me hanging on!” Garcia whined. “You know I can photoshop some pretty nasty pictures of you.”

“Whoa baby girl, let’s leave photoshop alone. It’s a girl.” He had to hold the phone away from his ear as Garcia’s delighted squeals burst through the speaker.

“OH MY GOD! I bet she’s adorable! Name?”

“Sophie, and yes she’s adorable, she’s got Emma’s eyes.” He couldn’t stop grinning like the proud Father he was as he thought back to the tiny baby in the room. _His_ tiny baby. Once again his body seemed to spasm with fear at the idea of being responsible for her.

“I can’t wait to hold her!” Garcia squealed. “Send me photos!” He promised he would before hanging up to let her get back to the case.

When he got back to the room Emma had Sophie back in her arms and she seemed to have visibly relaxed, obviously happy to have her daughter back when she belonged. Remembering his promise to Garcia he pulled out his phone and flicked through the settings to the camera before holding it up to capture Emma’s radiant smile as she caught his eye, both of them in awe of the child they’d created. He was going to send that picture to Garcia but Sarah seemed to have other ideas as she stole his phone and pushed him towards the bed.

“You need one of the three of you.” He nodded and settled on the bed as he wrapped a protective arm around Emma and Sophie. His perfect little family.

 


	4. Rush

**Wouldn’t it be wonderful if no one ever had to worry about the random cruelty of fatal illness or the woes of old age attacking them or their loved ones-** **Joan D. Vinge**

The worst day of Emma’s life was a Thursday. It had started out as a good day, the summer sun was shining down on their garden where Emma was sat in her daughter’s pink play house playing tea party. It was how she missed the first phone call. Emma rested her hand on her swollen abdomen and winced as her baby kicked her kidney, she was seven months pregnant with their second child; a son. Derek had been ecstatic when he found out he was having a son, and was already planning the nursery, although Sophie was less than impressed with the prospect of having to share her toys with a ‘smelly boy.’

Derek had been away on a case for the last week and Emma was missing him dreadfully, her hormones had gone into overdrive and she was constantly worrying that he was going to be hurt. Emma was just taking a sip of hot ‘tea’ when she heard the doorbell ring, she groaned, trying to manoeuvre her pregnant body out of the play house while under pressure to answer the door wasn’t good for her back but eventually she managed to pull herself out. Sophie trailed behind her Mom, ever since she’d found out she was going to have a sibling she’d become incredibly clingy to both her parents. Absentmindedly Emma reached out to stroke the curly hair that bounced around Sophie’s angelic face as she reached for the latch on the front door.

She wished she’s waited a few more seconds until she opened the door, just for a few more seconds of normalcy. But she thought it would just be a neighbour asking to borrow milk or one of her old team visiting her so she happily opened the door.

Only to find a crying Garcia on her doorstep.

“What’s happened?” Emma grabbed the door jamb to steady herself as her head began to spin. Garcia grabbed her arm before leading Emma over to the sofa, this was why she’d come over to tell her the news because she didn’t want the pregnant Emma to have to deal with it on her own. When she’d heard Reid had tried to phone her, she’d yelled at him for being insensitive but she was starting to feel bad about her treatment of Reid. She was just so worried about her Chocolate Thunder God.

“Sophie, why don’t you go draw me a picture upstairs? I’ll hang it on my wall.” Sophie shook her head at her Aunt’s request and clung to her Mom.

“Go on baby, I’ll be up in a minute.” Emma kissed her daughter, all the while trying so hard not to break down as she internally freaked out over what had happened to her husband. Sophie nodded before leaving the room, Emma waited until she heard her daughter enter her bedroom before turning back to Garcia. “Please.”

“He was… he was shot in the chest while chasing an unsub. He’s in theatre now, that’s all I know.” Garcia wiped away a tear and tried to be strong for the woman she considered one of her closest friends. Emma let out a wail and buried her head in Garcia’s shoulder as her whole body shook with fear; Derek was her best friend, apart from Sophie he was the most important person in her world and she couldn’t bear the idea of losing him. “He’ll be okay.” Garcia promised quietly.

“I… I need to be with him. We need to go.” Emma, not thinking clearly tried to stand only to sit down quickly as her head began spinning.

“Emma, its ok, just sit there. Do you want me to stay with Sophie?”

“No, come with me. Eliza can look after her.” Garcia nodded gratefully, she would have looked after Sophie so Emma could be with her husband but she really wanted to be there with Morgan. Garcia retrieved the phone and dialled Eliza’s number, hoping the agent wasn’t away on a case, all the while Emma sat wringing her hands and trying not to break down, fully aware of her daughter playing upstairs.

“Hey Emma, what’s up?” Eliza asked tiredly as she yawned down the phone. Eliza was Emma’s best friend and had been on the same team as Emma/

“It’s Penelope… Derek’s friend. I don’t suppose you can come over?”

“Is Emma ok? Sophie?” Eliza’s voice went up an octave at the idea of her best friend or Goddaughter in trouble.

“No… no, it’s Derek, he’s been…” Emma let out a small sob and buried her head back into her hands. “…Well, can you just come over.”

“I’ll be there in five minutes.” After putting the phone down Garcia tried to think of what she needed to do now but her mind was everywhere. She wasn’t good at this part, she spent her whole time praying that her family would be safe but when they weren’t… she went to pieces.

“I need to sort Sophie out.” Emma whispered as she started off into the corner at something Garcia couldn’t see.

“How about I pack a bag for you.” Emma smiled her thanks before pulling herself off the sofa. The baby was kicking hysterically, probably in reaction to his Mother’s panic as Emma’s heart seemed to be trying to burst out of her trust. Sophie was sat on her colouring table drawing a collection of stick people in bright colours with a dog bigger than the house standing guard.

“Sophie, baby, Mommy has to go to see Daddy for a little bit but Auntie Eliza will look after you.”

“No!” The little girl squealed and flung herself at her Mom’s legs. “Don’t wanna stay here. I wanna be with you and Daddy!”

“Sophie.” Emma manoeuvred herself onto the little girl’s bed before helping the little girl curl up beside her. “I need you to be my big brave girl, can you do that?”

“No.” Sophie snivelled as big fat tears fell down her face.

“Sophie, _please._ If you’re really good Mommy will bring you back a special present.” Emma was normally against bribing children to do what you needed them to, but right now she couldn’t deal with a big argument with Sophie.

“What kind of present?” Sophie sniffed but looked slightly happier.

“A surprise. So will you be a good girl for Auntie Eliza?” Sophie nodded and hugged her Mom tightly. Emma breathed in the comforting scent of her daughter, trying desperately to keep calm. Her husband was on the operating table fighting for his life and she was desperate to be with him.

“Hey Sophie, can I see your beautiful picture?” Garcia came in with a fake smile for the little girl who instantly jumped up to show her favourite aunt the crayon drawing while Emma went to check Garcia had packed everything she needed. She’d begun floating on autopilot, trying to keep her emotions in check so she could be strong for her family. That was until she saw the picture of Derek and his sisters on the window sill of her entire body shock and she had to sit down heavily on the edge of her bed. _She had to call Fran._ Well, Sarah, they had a rule that if something bad happened to any of them they would call either Sarah or, they didn’t want Fran to hear something horrendous over the phone.

“Hey Emma, how’s my nephew?” She bit her lip at Sarah’s happy voice, completely carefree, why did she have to be the one to change that?

“Derek’s in hospital.” She let out a little sob as the other end of the phone went completely silent.

“What? How? What happened? He’ll be okay though won’t he?” She begged.

“He got shot. He’s at the hospital in Fairfax, I’m about to head off now. I’m scared.” She whimpered.

“It’ll be alright baby; we’re going to be with you as soon as we can. I love you, just stay strong.”

“Love you too.” Even after Sarah had put the phone down, probably to go and sit her Mother down to tell her that her only son was fighting for his life, she held the phone to her ear as if it would give her some comfort.

“Eliza and Kevin are here.” Garcia appeared at the door with Sophie curled up in her arms, playing with her flowery necklace. Sophie adored Garcia, her favourite aunt, but then who wouldn’t enjoy being relentlessly spoilt by the cheerfully tech girl with a mountain of presents and days out.

“Kevin?”

“He’s going to drive us. Right Little Miss Sophie why don’t you go say hi!” Garcia kissed the little girl’s head before allowing her to jump down on the floor and run towards the door. Emma smiled gratefully as she pulled herself up; she wanted to get going as soon as possible.

Thankfully Eliza had bought Sophie a new toy which made their goodbye a little less difficult. Emma had given up her job as an agent so she could spend time with Sophie, although she still did help on local cases and she lectured at the FBI academy. And while it had meant she had a great relationship with her daughter, it did mean that when she had to leave her Sophie got anxious. She took a second staring at her baby happily playing with the doll and suddenly she wondered if the next time she saw her daughter she’d be explaining to her that her Daddy was dead. She kissed Sophie’s head before hurriedly leaving, unable to contemplate the thought.

It was an hour car ride to the hospital. An hour that seemed to drag on for an eternity as she sat and rubbed her stomach, trying to calm her son down as he kept kicking. Kevin was silent as he kept his eyes focused on the road while Garcia kept leaning forward to rub Emma’s shoulder, all of them thinking about Derek. When they finally pulled up outside an ominous grey building that was passing for a hospital Emma was a bag of nerves; no one had called them during the drive so surely no news was good news? But maybe they didn’t want to tell her over the phone that her husband was dead, like she hadn’t wanted to tell Fran. She didn’t know what she’d do if he was dead, from the moment they’d got married she hadn’t imagined what her life would be like without him. She saw the two of them growing old together, not becoming a single Mother at thirty three.

“Everything will be fine.” Garcia promised her as they walked in, only to find a worried Hotch waiting in the lobby.

“Please, he’s not…” Tears began trickling down Emma’s cheeks as she wrapped her arms around her pregnant stomach.

“No, he’s just come out of surgery. He hasn’t woken up yet and he’ll be off work for a few months but they think he should make a full recovery.” Emma wrapped her arms around him and whispered ‘thank you’ as if he’d been the one to save Derek, if anything he was the reason Derek was in the hospital in the first place. He’d been the one who’d sent him alone to interview the victim, who turned out to be the Unsub. By the time the team had realised their mistake and got to the house, Derek was lying in a pool of blood struggling to breath. Hotch had held him as they waited for the ambulance and had promised that he would look after Emma and the kids after Derek begged for his assurance. He would have to, he would have made sure that Emma was taken care of but he was so grateful that instead he could reunite Emma with her husband. “Come on, Emma, I’ll take you to him.”

Derek was in a private room a few doors down from the waiting room that the team had been forced to sit it; the lioness of the nurse had told them that she didn’t care that they were FBI, unless they were related to Derek they were _not_ going in his room. Derek was still unconscious with an oxygen mask strapped to his face and several intravenous drips attached to both arms; Emma hated seeing her husband looking so weak and vulnerable. As soon as she was sat down she reached for his limp hand, so thankful that it was warm and she could feel his strong pulse underneath her fingers.

“I love you.” She bought his hands to her lips and kissed the familiar flesh before settling back in the uncomfortably hard chair to wait for those beautiful brown eyes to open.

Unfortunately by the time the rest of the Morgan clan arrived, several hours later, Derek was still unconscious and Emma had spent the last hour counting the tiles on the ceiling. Fran hugged Emma tightly; she could remember the day that she’d had to race to the hospital after being told her husband had been shot. She’d got there to find her son’s shirt covered in blood and a sympathetic doctor waiting to tell her that he was dead. It had felt like déjà vu when Sarah had sat her down, looking deathly pale and told her that her son was fighting for his life. One of Derek’s friends, Dr. Reid, had met them in the lobby to tell them that he was going to be alright. Fran had collapsed into Sarah’s arms and wept tears of joy and relief; the entire journey down had been spent in sickening contemplation of what life would be like without her son. Her grandson would grow up without a Father, just like Derek. 


	5. Argument

**_"You never knew the last time you were seeing someone. You didn't know when the last argument happened, or the last time you had sex, or the last time you looked into their eyes and thanked God they were in your life. After they were gone? That was all you thought about. Day and night." — J.R. Ward_ **

Emma often teased Derek with reminders of the worry that he’d inflicted when he’d been shot, mostly because Derek had never tired of telling the story to his family about the time Emma had done the same thing to him.

What could she say, payback was a bitch.

***

Penelope Garcia looked over anxiously at her best friend. She’d walked passed his door five times that morning and each time he just looked more unhappy then he had before; usually she would have gone in and asked but she had a feeling it was to do with Emma. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Morgan’s girlfriend, if anything she loved her, but she still wasn’t quite sure how to give advice on the relationship, she didn’t want to be accused of stirring. She didn’t get a choice in the matter however, as Derek looked up and motioned for her to come in. Garcia sat down and picked up one of the small fuzzy balls she’d given him so she had something to do with her hands.

“I don’t know why people get into relationships, they’re too difficult.” He finally threw out exasperatedly, slamming his pen down on the table for good measure. “I mean, we’re meant to understand each other’s jobs and the constraints that it will put on our relationship! So why does she suddenly decide to be unreasonable! She’s missed plenty of our dates but do I ever complain? No!”

“Honey, you need to back up a bit and tell me what happened.” Garcia soothed as he got more and more irate.

“We were meant to go out for our first anniversary but we had to go on the Slayer case. I mean you know how bad that case was and how quickly we had to leave, okay so I _should_ have phoned her but I forgot and we were so busy… but she’s completely lost her mind over. She said she was sat there for hours waiting for me. I mean I feel bad about that but she’s gone off the deep end!”

“You left her sat there, alone, with everyone whispering about her on your first anniversary and you didn’t even call her?” Garcia asked incredulously. “If Kevin did that to me…”

“It wasn’t for fun! The case was the only thing I was thinking about! I did apologise when I got all her messages…”

“With flowers, chocolates and grovelling. As well as the present for your anniversary?”

“Well, not as such. It was more a voice message.” Derek bit his lip and leaned back as he saw the fury in Garcia’s face.

“I thought you were a ladies man? Surely you know how to treat a lady.” Derek thought about that, and realised that while he knew how to _get_ ladies, keeping them had never been something he’d had to worry about. 

“Yeah but she’s completely lost it with me. She won’t even answer my calls anymore! What am I meant to do? Maybe we should just end it; I mean this isn’t going to be the last time that we have this problem with our work schedule.”

“Derek! You’re in love with each other! And don’t try to deny it; I see the way you look at each other. You’ll work through it, you just have to adjust.” Derek didn’t look convinced but he didn’t have time to answer back as his phone rung.

***

Emma was angry. No, Emma was so furious was Derek she wanted to punch his smug face into next week. Unfortunately she couldn’t, she was stuck undercover with a member of another FBI special crimes unit. She hated working undercover with strangers, it wasn’t the lack of trust or anything logistical; it was the fact you couldn’t have a decent conversation with them. And considering she was pretending to be stripper in a seedy lap dancing club to catch a killer, it would be really nice to laugh with one of her friends about it. Laughing was the only way to get through something like this.

She pushed her hair out of her face and continued applying make-up to her already caked face as she waited for her cue on her ‘first night.’ If she hadn’t been so angry with Derek she would have felt guilty, of course she was doing this for a job, but she was still his girlfriend and usually she would have called him to tell him what was happening. She had been in a similar situation before, dressing up and dancing provocatively in a club to try and entice a killer, and they’d spoken beforehand with Derek telling her it was fine. And then when she got to her apartment late in the night she’d found Derek waiting for her on the doorstep (her neighbour had complained to her the next day about the ‘vagrant’ who’d somehow got into their building). He’d wanted to see her, be close to her, it was almost primal his urge to know that she was still his girl. Not that Emma had minded, she’d clung to him tightly, feeling almost dirty from having a killer’s mouth on hers but Derek made her feel better. She felt like she was his.

Now, however, she was almost sadistically looking forward to what she was about to do; knowing that it would make Derek uncomfortable. This was why she needed Eliza to, so they could rip Derek to pieces. Unfortunately she was stuck with some quiet agent who hadn’t looked at her once since they got here.

“Excuse me ladies, the boss would like to see you.” One of the sleazy bouncer appeared at the door wearing a deceptively smart black shirt and suit. We both looked at each other before nodding and heading out the door; Emma nervously tapped her fingers against her bare thigh as they walked through the peeling corridors of the back rooms, she felt naked both from her non-existent costume and her lack of gun. She knew the two teams were outside but  it would take them time to get in there and if something went wrong then there was a good chance she could get hurt. She shook her head and tried to focus, if she believed her story then so would Hayle.

Hayle’s office was spacious and luxurious, everything that you would expect from a gangster. There was even the loving picture of his Mom displayed on his desk. She risked a peak over at Austen, the other agent but only received a view of her curly brown hair. Hayle was in front of us, sat at the large mahogany desk wearing a black suit; it seemed to be the uniform around here. He was short and thin but with an air of confidence that made him seem larger than life, his domineering presence made my entire body shake with fear. He knew.

“I thought the FBI was smarter than this? I mean I kill all those people and they send two _women_ in to try and bring me down.” Hayle jeered and his confirmation of her fears turned her insides to ice. She quickly pressed the small button on the inside of the bracelet she was wearing; signalling to the team that they were in trouble.  Derek’s face popped into her head at that moment, she wasn’t angry anymore, she just wanted to see him again.

The two of them reacted as quickly as they could but five bouncers appeared from nowhere and launched at the two agents; Emma punched one of the men but was gripped by the other allowing the first to get his own back on Emma and send a vicious punch into her stomach. Austen had fought valiantly but with three beefy men bearing down on her she was soon being held down like Emma. Both of them clung on desperately to the knowledge that their teams would be bursting into the room any minute now, they just had to hold on.

Sadly Hayle also knew that the time he had with the agents was short and he wanted to make them pay. So without a second thought he drew his pistol from its holster and aimed it at the Austen.

***

Derek dropped the phone onto the desk as he stared at nothing. Garcia had no idea what had been said on the phone but every time she asked she just received the silent horrified look that seemed paralysed on his face. He never really heard Garcia’s pleas for information; he was trying to process what he’d just heard. She was dead. Emma, his Emma was dead. Their argument was the last conversation they’d had. She couldn’t be dead, they hadn’t made up yet. He hadn’t given her chocolates and flowers, gone down on his knees and begged her forgiveness until she gave in and kissed him. She couldn’t be dead, she just couldn’t.

“I need to see her.” His voice was monotonous, dead. It seemed fitting, if Emma was dead then what did he have left.

“Emma? Is she hurt? Which hospital?” Garcia reached out and stroked his unresponsive hand.

“Dead.” His voice cracked as he said the dreaded word aloud.

“What?” Garcia whispered but he couldn’t answer as he dissolved into choking sobs. She couldn’t be dead. He loved her, God he loved her! His whole heart seemed to have shattered as he wished he could bring her back, he would do anything to hold her again. Garcia jumped up and hugged him tightly against her breast as she yelled for the others.

“I need to see her, I need to apologise.” He gasped out and Garcia felt her own tears flow down her cheeks as she witnessed her best friend break down. Garcia kissed his head and promised him quietly that she’d get him to Emma.

The entire team went with Derek, not that he noticed them. He was so fixated on being with Emma, holding her limp body and apologise profusely even if she couldn’t hear him anymore. This was his entire fault; only this morning he’d contemplated ending the relationship. How could he ever believe he could live without Emma? She had been the best thing in his life and now she was gone forever. _I love you, Emma._

Eliza met them on the door looking atrocious, her skin sallow and tear stained but when she saw Derek she bit her lip and looked almost nervous.

“Derek I’m so sorry.”

“Was it quick?” He asked hoarsely, praying she didn’t suffer anymore then she had to.

“Derek I’m sorry. We believed it too and you weren’t answering your phone.”

“What’s going on?” JJ asked as she held Derek upright.

“There was a mistaken identity. A SWAT team got in there before us and everything happened so quickly that we believed Em was dead, until we had to identify the body.”

“Emma’s alive?” Derek shouldn’t have got his hopes up as much as he did but even the tiniest bit of hope that she was alive made his heart leap. Surely he couldn’t be _that_ lucky?

“Yeah, she’s alive. She was shot but it was a flesh wound, I mean it was enough to cause her to lose consciousness but she’ll be fine.” Derek took a few seconds to process this new information; he couldn’t believe it until he saw her, held her in his arms and kissed her senseless. Eliza seemed to understand his need as she pointed him in the direction of Emma’s room. He ran all the way down the corridor and stormed into the room Eliza had pointed out.

Emma was sat on the bed, still in shock from watching another agent die in front of her, and nearly die herself. All she wanted was Derek’s arms around her. She just wanted to apologise to him and declare her undying love. She looked up when she heard speedy footfalls outside her room only for Derek to appear a second later. Both of them cried when they set eyes on each other again and Derek lunged across the room and pulled her into his arms. He’d never felt so happy in his life, she was alive. She was alive and he was never, ever going to lose her again.

The “I love you”’s and “I’m sorry”’s merged together into a stream of unintelligible babble as Derek kissed and caressed her, enjoying the feel of her warm, living body. Just as Emma was sinking into his embraces Derek pulled away from her so he could look into those sad green eyes.

“Marry me.”

“What?”

“I _never_ want to be without you. So please, become my wife.”

“Yes.” Emma smiled for the first time that day before pulling her fiancé in for another kiss.

“I love you.” They promised one another sincerely as they lay down on the bed and just held one another. Derek relishing her every heartbeat as he promised that he would never take her for granted again.  


	6. Christmas

**6\. Christmas**

**One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don’t clean it up too quickly- Andy Rooney.**

The pale pink sunlight was barely fingering the curtains when Sophie Morgan awoke on Christmas Day. She let out a squeal of delight as she noticed the red stocking on the doorframe, bulging with presents from Santa. She bounced off her bed and leant up to unhook the stocking from the door so she could show her Mommy and Daddy. It was heavy and she had to drag it across the hall into her parents’ room, both of them were still asleep, curled up in one another’s arms. The tell tale signs of the real Santa; discarded wrapping paper and cellotape, were hanging conspicuously out of the wardrobe but the little girl was too engrossed in waking her parents. She scrambled up the end of the bed, sliding slightly on the silky sheeting but eventually she safely navigated the mound of bedding with her stocking dragging along behind her. She lunged at the two snoozing figures, causing them both to leap up in shock. Emma emitted a yelp as she was pulled from a dreamless sleep by a sudden weight on her abdomen. The noise woke Derek who rolled over to find his daughter excitedly bouncing up and down, yelling that Santa had come. He smiled, thinking about everything he had in his life; a beautiful wife, a healthy daughter, a baby boy, lovely home and a great job. He didn’t have much more time to contemplate the luck in his life as Sophie lunged across and landed on his chest. Bright, happy green eyes sparkled up at him while she giggled and kissed his nose. She was a happy little girl, everyone remarked on it; she even made Garcia look like a pessimistic person. If Derek was honest he wasn’t really sure where she got it from, he was happy enough but he could be angry when he needed to be and Emma was more serious than happy, although after Sophie’s birth she became a little less severe; he guessed it was because she’d left her job to be with Sophie.  It wasn’t hard to cheer up a bit if you weren’t staring at dead bodies all day.     

“What did Santa get you baby?” Derek asked as she hopped around on the bed between them. Sophie plopped down and began rummaging through the stocking making small excitable noises as she found an array of different presents. There was a small cry from the crib beside the bed as the youngest member of the family saw the injustice of his sister getting attention when he wasn’t.

“Ok, ok Daniel I’m coming.” Derek laughed as he pulled himself away from his girls to pick up his son who was holding his hands out for his Father. Five months old he was already struggling to try and sit up as he put his arms out for his Dad to pick him up. He’d been born six weeks early by emergency caesarean after fears were raised about Emma’s blood pressure; although both Emma and Daniel had been fine Derek had spent a lot of time wondering what he would have done if he’d lost them and knowing that it would have been all his fault if anything had happened. Derek pulled the boy into his arms and placed a kiss on his cheek, his stubble making the little boy squirm and giggle.

“Merry Christmas, Danny.” Emma smiled as she cuddled Sophie against her breast. Daniel, who still associated Emma with maternal protection and warm milk, instantly made grabbing motions for his Mom. Derek tried not to take it too personally, when his son was older he’d be dying to play a game of football with his old man but for now he preferred the parent who could feed him. Emma took the boy in her other arm and cuddled both her children as Danny tried to take his sister’s new toy from her.

“No.” She said stubbornly, pulling the small bear against her chest.

“Share with him, Soph.” Emma chastised good naturedly as Derek passed Daniel a small package for him to try and open.

“Can we wake Nanna?” Sophie asked as she checked the bottom of her stocking for any hidden presents. Despite the early hour, the noise of the two excitable children had most certainly woken up the whole of the Morgan clan who were staying with them so Emma agreed. Her “Yes” had barely been uttered before Sophie was off the bed and flying out the room. She adored her Grandmother, mostly because she was the only Granddaughter (Sarah had a two year old son called Elliot) and was always being spoilt with pink pony toys. The two of them lay in bed and laughed quietly when they heard Sophie yelling excitedly at Fran to come and see all her presents, Danny hadn’t quite gotten the hang of opening presents so he had taken to sucking the paper in an attempt to get it open. The small boy gave up on the object to wrap his chubby fingers in his Mom’s hair and tried to suck it; she rolled her eyes as she distracted him by opening a corner of the present and helping him to prise it open. She laughed as he gurgled happily when she gave him the brightly coloured shape sorter; he was already teething and instantly began gnawing on a blue square brick.

Sophie, meanwhile, was jumping on her Grandma’s bed screeching that it was Christmas, the only holiday she was more excited about was Halloween but Fran was never usually there that time of year to see her. Fran grinned as the little girl hugged her tightly and asked if she’d heard Santa on the roof. Fran smiled before agreeing that she thought she had heard reindeer’s hooves on the roof last night; she adored her Grandchildren and loved spending time with them, especially now they were a little older. Sophie began dragging her Gran out of bed, wanting to go downstairs and find out what else Santa had left downstairs.

“Do you think Santa liked the cookies we left him?” Sophie asked as she bounced on the bed while Fran pulled a warm fleece around her.  Fran couldn’t help but choke back a laugh, Santa may not have enjoyed them but the adults certainly had last night along with the glass of brandy milk. Emma appeared in the doorway, with Daniel clinging around her neck, smiling apologetically at her daughter’s early morning wake up call.

“Merry Christmas, Mom.” Emma smiled shyly, even after almost seven years of being part of the family she still feared waking up one day to find that she’d lost everything.

“The same to you, my darling child.” Fran gave her an awkward one armed hug to avoid squashing Daniel, knowing the secret fears that the girl held. The two headed towards the stairs with Sophie squealing excitedly in front of them.

“Christmas with children is the best. There’s nothing quite like the magic they see in the world is there? I can remember when Derek was little; he used to try to stay up all night listening for Santa. Once Daniel went outside and threw stones outside his window, he came running into my bedroom ecstatic that Santa was outside. It made my night.” Fran laughed happily although the story tugged at her heart; she wished her husband was here right now to enjoy his Grandchildren. He’d always joked with her how good it would be when they had Grandchildren, all of the fun with none of the discipline. For a cop he’d hated telling his children off, he was a ‘gentle giant’ when it came to them, especially the girls, they could wrap him around their little fingers. Today, however, wasn’t a day to focus on the regrets of the past. Daniel would want her to be happy with their family.

Sophie had already made it downstairs and was squealing at the presents. Emma laughed and jogged down the stairs to stop her ripping into them before everyone else got downstairs. Fran was about to follow when a strong arm wrapped around her shoulders and she couldn’t help but lean into her son’s comforting embrace.

“Merry Christmas, Ma,” He smiled, his face lighting up as he listened to his gurgling children downstairs and Emma’s laughter.  

“Merry Christmas Son.” She patted his cheek before extracting herself to follow her granddaughter downstairs. Sophie was jumping up and down in the kitchen, Emma must have herded her in away from the Christmas tree and its exciting fruit.

“Where’s Derek?” Emma asked, using her free hand to take a drag from a coffee mug. Fran turned, she thought he’d been right behind her but there was no sign of him.

 Derek had retreated back into the bedroom, heading for his sock draw, he’d got a special present for Emma this year. Sometimes he thought about the first day he’d met Emma, the first words they’d spoken. He’d thought she was a bit of a joke actually, too serious, over compensating for being a young woman in a male dominated field. He’d tried his usual routine on her, a cheeky smile and a “hey honey” but she’d whirled round and glowered at him, practically snarling that her name was SSA Leavie and he better remember that, before turning her head so violently that her ponytail almost hit him in the face.  Rossi and Reid had nearly been sick from laughing. So he’d written her off as stuck up and almost begged Hotch to rethink the pairings when he’d said the two would have to spend a night stuck on duty together. If anyone had suggested then that she would become the mother of his children he would have joined Reid and Rossi in their hysterics. That was the funny thing about love, you never knew who would find their way into your heart. He’d prepared to spend an unpleasant night in a cold car with _SSA Leavie,_ and it was certainly shaping up that way, until he’d mentioned having a dog. It had been an offhand comment but she’d quietly asked what kind of dog it was, and the two had started talking about dog breeds and family pets. As dawn’s pink glow began to tinge the sky she’d told him to call her Emma. He’d been an inch away from her, their mouths moving closer as they prepared to break all kinds of protocol when Hotch’s voice over the radio pulled them back to their senses. Well, until the end of the case.

Her hair was pulled into a very similar ponytail to the one that had almost hit him in the face as he rounded the staircase to find her bouncing his son on her hip in the kitchen, trying to distract Sophie from the presents in the living room until everyone else woke up, although, he doubted her distraction techniques would work for long. Sophie was bounding around her Mom, giggling and laughing without a care in the world. It melted his heart a little and he stored the image in his mind alongside the other family memories that helped me through our worst cases. Noticing his entrance Sophie sprinted across the room, arms outstretched so he could grab her in their usual greeting. He was practiced enough in this to be able to catch her under the arms mid sprint and throw her up in air and catching her, holding her above his head and tipping her down so he could kiss her cheek. She was getting heavier and his arms were shaking slightly with the effort. He dreaded the day that she was too big for him to pick her up. Luckily he could still rest her on his hip and snuggle her close.

“I think Christmas is my favourite day ever!” Sophie yelled in his ear and he couldn’t help but laugh before agreeing that Christmas _was_ a very cool day. His wife sauntered over and he wrapped his free arm around her lithe waist. It had just been a simple family moment but his snap happy little sister appeared in the doorway and turned paparazzi on them because they “looked like the perfect little family.” With his eldest baby in his arms and his beautiful wife leaning against him cradling their youngest, he couldn’t help but agree with Desiree’s assessment of the situation.

Now that everyone was present and correct, Sophie turned her begging eyes on her father and he nodded, letting her down as she ran into the living room. Emma went to follow but Derek held her back.

“What?” She asked, a smile playing on her face.

“Merry Christmas Darling,” He held out the small oblong box, wrapped in a silver bow.

“Derek… what?” She began pulling at the bow one handed, smiling to herself. Her husband always like surprising her.

“I just wanted you to have something extra special, you’re such a great Mom even when I’m not here half the time. I thought you deserved something as shiny as you.” She snorted at his explanation before leaning up and kissing him.

“I love you, and our life.” She promised when she pulled away from his soft lips. She turned back to the present, pulling open the box to find a golden chain nestled in red velvet. On the chain were two interlinking hearts with red gems connecting them. “Derek it’s beautiful. Thank you. Isn’t Daddy an old romantic, Danny?”

She kissed him again, letting his muscular arms wrap around her and Daniel.

“Mommy! Daddy! Hurry!” Sophie’s impatient scream made the two of them laugh.

“Ready?” Derek grinned down at Emma.

“Ready.” She laughed, following her daughters laughter towards Christmas day.  


End file.
